


Visiting the Uncle

by SibillaScribbles08



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: From my PPT AU, M/M, Ronin is trans, Trans Male Character, but not in a negative way, it will come up in this fic, its as the title says, these middle age men will be smooching a lot, will be mentions of more than that but nothing written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:56:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26582518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SibillaScribbles08/pseuds/SibillaScribbles08
Summary: After coming back to Dareth's place and apologizing, Dareth's agrees to Ronin's idea of eventually moving elsewhere with him to start up a business. But before all of that, Dareth insists Ronin has to meet his uncle, the man who raised him, if they're going to stay married.Ronin isn't fond of this idea, more afraid of the man than his smuggling ring boss, but goes along with it for Dareth's sake anyway. Still, he can't shake his nerves, can't shake the feeling the guy might try and bury him when given the chance, or maybe he really is just overthinking things.AKA Ronin's time with Dareth's uncle and the ups and downs it contained.
Relationships: Dareth/Ronin (Ninjago)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Visiting the Uncle

**Author's Note:**

> Said ages ago I'd write this, decided to finally write it for their anniversary. 
> 
> If you're coming into this from nowhere, this fic is connected to the main fic, Pretty Penny Tavern. You don't have to read all of it but I might suggest reading episode 8 (not chapter 8, episode 8) 
> 
> As stated in the tags there WILL be smooching, and sappy nonsense, and a couple of discussions of the pair sleeping together but nothing written. 
> 
> I was going to upload it all at once but health has kept me from writing as much as I'd like, so here's the first part. I will upload more as I get it done.

“Dareth I can’t do this.” Ronin stared at the house in front of them like it was the iron gate of a courthouse. There wasn’t anything objectively intimidating about it. The house was in good shape, but clearly worn with age from faded paint, faint cracks in the wooden siding, and dust around the corners of the windows. When was this thing even built? The 1970s? Ronin commended Dareth’s uncle for keeping it intact for this long. 

He prayed it had running water, then shook his head at that doubt. Of course it did. 

“Yes you can, you’re already here.” Dareth came over to pat Ronin on the back. “I promise it’ll be fine.”

“What if he hates me?”

“Then that’s his problem.” He gently nudged Ronin toward the door. “Come on.” 

Part of Ronin simply didn’t want to walk anymore. For whatever reason the place they parked was almost a half mile from the actual house itself. They’d carried their bags all the way along the dirt path, a few cows staring at them from the other side of the fence. When Dareth said he grew up on a farm Ronin somehow didn’t expect this much of a farm. Just how much land was there? 

They stepped up onto the porch and Dareth knocked on the door. Ronin could see the button for the doorbell, wasn’t sure why his husband didn’t use that instead. While waiting for a response he studied the exterior a bit more. Even the door showed its age, the paint chipping away at the top and the bottom. At least the screen door seemed to be new, perhaps recently replaced. He looked down at the deck, feeling the boards move under his feet as they creaked. Old, but sturdy. 

The door opened. Ronin straightened up, looking at the man–the uncle he assumed–who opened it. 

Though he only got to see so much.

“Dareth!” The older man grinned and pulled Dareth into a hug. 

“Hey Uncle Mark.” Dareth hugged him back. “You’re looking well.” 

Mark laughed. “Well, it’s like I told you. Some sunshine can cure anything.”   
  
Ronin could tell the man must believe some of what he said, considering how tan his skin was. It made the wrinkles more obvious, but in spite of his age his muscles were still toned. His frame was thinner than Dareth’s, so was his face. They barely looked related if not for the shape of the nose. He had a baseball cap on his head, so Ronin couldn’t pin down if he was bald or just had thin hair. He wouldn’t ask. 

“And this must be Ronin.” Mark turned to him, arms crossed. He had a smile on his face, but those eyes were clearly trying to burn a hole through him. “Heard a lot about you.” 

That was bait, Ronin knew it, but he couldn’t stay quiet. “Oh?”

“Yeah, ‘bout you running off, hiding out for a year.”

Dareth sighed. “Mark, we’ve been over this.” 

“Let me poke fun at him, think I got a right to do that.” Mark nudged his nephew before stepping back into the house. “Well, come on in. Too hot to be standing out here for too long, specially with your luggage.” 

Ronin shuffled in after Dareth, half hiding behind him. The front door led into a long hallway which ended with a staircase. He could tell the door on his left lead to the kitchen, the appliances in which looked older than he did. On the right was a living room, a nice one too. The wooden floor still shone, the carpet looked like genuine silk, and the coffee table looked hand made. 

He could only take in so much as they headed directly to the stairs and up to the second floor. The hallway there had a bit of an overhang to see downstairs before that ended in a doorway to a bedroom. 

“Guest room is all yours.” Mark gestured to let the pair of the past. “Bathroom up here is all yours too, can be accessed through the hall or the bedroom. I’ll let you get your stuff down before giving you a tour.”

Dareth chuckled. “I doubt I need a tour, but it’ll be neat to see if you’ve done anything new with the place.” He headed into the bedroom and plopped one of the bags on the bed before dropping his suitcase on the floor.

They tried to limit their baggage on this trip, as Dareth suggested, and after the long walk to the house Ronin figured out why. Not like he needed much anyway, though Dareth insisted he’d want shirts. They only planned to stay a week, so it’s not like they had to overpack. 

Still, two suitcases and two backpacks sure felt like a lot. 

“You want to unload stuff, or just get to the tour?” Dareth asked.

Ronin didn’t reply at first. The bedroom was bigger than he expected, the bed was too. The quilt on it looked comfy, colorful, splashes of yellow and orange. He ran his hand over it, feeling the texture of the stitches. Everything about the room felt old, rustic, even down to the smell, but it was comfortable. Out of habit he checked the drawer on the nightstand, and the ones in the dresser. Completely empty. 

“Ronin.” 

He turned to look at Dareth this time. “Yeah?”

Dareth chuckled. “Got it, tour first. We’ll let you poke your nose around and then settle in.”

Ronin shut the drawer. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine.” He took the backpack off Ronin’s shoulder and tossed it on the bed. “Come on.” 

Ronin followed, though he barely wanted to. He kept glancing around, looking at the paintings on the wall and some of the photos. There were a number of pictures of Dareth, likely taken all over the farm. One of them made him stop just at the top of the stairs. Dareth was sitting on a horse, not unusual, but there was someone sitting behind him with the same exact face.

“Who’s this?” He pointed to it.

Dareth glanced at the picture. “Oh, that’s my twin brother, Archie.”

“What?” Ronin looked at the picture again. Twins made sense, the pair of them were practically identical apart from the hair color. “Didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Yeah, haven’t gotten any good photos of him recently. We only made up a few years ago.”

Ronin frowned. “Made up?”

“Long story for later.” Dareth took his wrist. “Come on. I know you’re trying to stall.”

Ronin would have argued that he wasn’t, but maybe he was on some subconscious level. 

Mark was waiting in the kitchen, pouring lemonade into three glasses. Dareth looked delighted, not hesitating to pick one of them up. 

“Figured you two might be thirsty after the drive.” Mark smiled as Dareth downed half the glass.

Ronin took his own cup. It was cold despite the lack of ice, must have come from the fridge. He took a small sip, glad that it was more lemon and less sugar. “Thank you,” he said, though it sounded more like a mumble. 

“Take it you boys want the tour, then?”

“Yeah, Ronin likes to scope a place out, helps him feel safer.”

Ronin half wished Dareth didn’t say that, but thankfully the topic wasn’t dipped into further than that. 

Mark simply grabbed his own glass and gestured around the kitchen. “Well here’s the kitchen, obviously, know some of it looks old but I promise it functions just fine.”

Old was certainly the word Ronin would have used. The table, stove, oven and counters definitely showed their age. The fridge and the dishwasher on the other hand seemed to be a lot more modern, which made some sense.

“Gas stove?” Ronin nodded to it. 

“Yeah, just prefer how it cooks. Have a gas heater in the living room too for the winter. Rest of the house is electric though, got solar panels on the roof and a windmill out in the field for extra power.”

“How many upgrades has this place gone through?”

Mark laughed at that. “A lot, too many, most in my lifetime too.”

Ronin frowned. “Not inherited?”

“Nope! Didn’t much care to lean into the careers of my parents and certainly not the career of my sister. Bought all this land for cheap, building was near falling apart.” 

Ronin cringed. “Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Sure was, but it was worth it.” Mark drank some lemonade. “Feel free to poke around the fridge and the freezer by the way. Just don’t eat nothing you ain’t prepared to replace.”

Ronin glanced at Dareth. “What does that mean?”

Dareth smiled. “It means if you eat something he was wanting to eat, you better be ready to replace it.”

Ah, right, understood. Ronin just nodded and followed the man to the living room. It was pretty straight forward, without asking any excessive questions about where he got all of his stuff. The old furniture, blankets and even pillows were contrasted with a much more updated projection TV, though it seemed to be wired to an older DVD player. Ronin peeked in the glass door cabinet to see all the DVDs, even a few records at the bottom. He didn’t see the record player, though. 

Ronin assumed the room next to it was supposed to be a dining room, but now it was fitted with a pool table, a couple of side tables, a shelf full of whiskey bottles, and a huge window showing a great view of the property. Apparently where Mark and his friends spent most of their Saturday nights. 

Ronin was tempted to ask where they lived. Not possibly near here. He swore he didn’t see a single house on the way in. 

The group went back to the hallway, heading into another that turned into the left side of the house. That one led to another door to the kitchen, Mark’s bedroom, and another bathroom. Ronin didn’t poke his nose in for very long, that’d just be rude. 

“Well, that’s it for the house.” Mark brought them back to the kitchen and refilled his lemonade. “You boys want to see the rest of the property?”

Dareth looked eager to start, but Ronin wasn’t sure about that. He felt worn out enough as is. 

Thankfully, his husband must have noticed. 

“Save it for the early morning.” Dareth took the rest of the lemonade. “It’ll be cooler then.”

Mark shrugged. “True enough, and I can show you boys how to repair some barn wall.”

“Huh?” Dareth stared. “Don’t tell me Crackerjack headbutted it open again.”

“She sure did. Thinking of buying a bunch of training mats and plastering them on the wall.” 

Ronin barely had any idea what they were talking about. Was it a cow? A horse? He wouldn’t have to handle those would he? He wasn’t very good with animals that were bigger than he was. 

He debated if he should slip away during the conversation, but decided that would be rude. Instead he kept himself busy by rinsing out his glass and leaving it in the drying rack. 

Dareth’s uncle was laughing at the conversation, but his gaze kept flicking in Ronin’s direction. His eyes were sharp. 

Things seemed casual now, but Ronin felt sure that the moment this man got him alone there’d be hell to pay.

He really wished he was back in Vegas. 

\-------------------------

After an easy dinner and light conversation, Ronin was more than happy to hole up in their room. He helped Dareth unpack some of their stuff, but let his husband take the shower as he proceeded to curl up under the sheets. 

He shouldn’t be this stressed out. Mark seemed more than friendly, and even if it was a front around Dareth he doubted the man would actually try and hurt him. 

Still, Dareth’s friends made their impressions of Ronin clear, and he had to assume Mark felt much the same. Something about everyone in Dareth’s life hating his guts made him feel sick. Some kind of reminder that Dareth deserved better. 

“Hmm, where did my husband go?” 

Dareth’s voice pulled Ronin out of his thoughts. He moved the blankets just enough to peek his head out of them.

“Ah, there he is.” The man stepped closer before leaning forward and kissing Ronin on the forehead. “Almost thought you were already asleep.” 

“Nah.” Ronin flopped back down. “Just… trying to relax.”

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Dareth kept drying off his hair with a towel as he walked around to the other side of the bed. 

Ronin’s gaze followed him. He hadn’t put a shirt on yet and that gold pendant looked nice against his chest. “No, I’m just overthinking it, probably.” 

“I’m sure it’ll get easier once you get to know him.” Dareth folded up the towel and left it on the dresser before grabbing a shirt. “You going to get into some PJs?”   
Ronin shrugged. “It’s not much different from my regular clothes.”   
  
“If you say so.” 

Ronin laid back down. He heard the sheets move and felt Dareth climb in on the other side. 

“Want to get the lamp?”

Ronin wiggled his arm free so he could reach out to the nightstand and flip the switch. The room was surprisingly not as dark as he expected. Must be good moonlight outside, coming in through the window. 

It was quiet for a while. Ronin tried to let himself doze off, one hand clutching the pillow a little too tightly. 

“Hey Ronin?”

He opened his eye, even though he couldn’t see much. “Yeah?” 

“How do you feel about um… would it bother you if I hugged you?” 

Ronin’s heart skipped a beat and he cursed himself for a moment. What was he, sixteen? “Nah, it wouldn’t.” 

The mattress dipped. Dareth’s arms sliding over Ronin’s torso almost made him jump, but he forced himself to relax. His husband got closer than he expected, pressing against his back and tugging him close. 

It was warm.

Ronin sighed. He let go of the pillow and moved his hand down to cover Dareth’s, holding onto that instead. 

It only took minutes for him to doze off afterwards. 

\--------------------------

“Alright boys, up an at ‘em.”

Ronin awoke at the voice but then shot up when a loud clang followed. He would have jumped out of the bed completely if Dareth’s arms didn’t tighten around his torso.

His husband groaned. “Mark, what the hell.” He sat up himself, but didn’t let go of Ronin. “It can’t be past six in the morning.”

“Come on, son.” Mark stood in the doorway, hands on his hips. Both of them carried a metal pan. “You know how early farm work starts.” 

“Yeah but we’re coming from Vegas.” Dareth hissed. “Couldn’t we wake up later at least on morning one?”

“Nope.” Mark waved a pan. “I got breakfast and coffee going for you, if it helps, but you ain’t sleeping in all morning.” 

Is that why the man let them go to bed so early? Ronin should have guessed. 

“If you aren’t down in five minutes I’m coming back up.” He waved at them before shutting the door. 

Dareth groaned again and flopped back onto the bed, taking Ronin with him. 

“You okay?” Dareth said as he pressed his nose against Ronin’s neck. 

“Yeah?”

“Your heart’s racing.” His husband tightened his grip.

“He just startled me. I’ll be fine.” Ronin took a deep breath to calm himself down. 

“Have to tell him to find a different way to wake us up.” Dareth’s voice turned into more and more of a mumble. 

“We better get up though, or he’s just going to do it again.” Ronin tried to pull free, but his husband didn’t let go. He at least managed to roll over, facing Dareth this time. He ran his hand over the man’s cheek. “Come on.” 

“But this is so comfy.” Dareth sighed. 

Ronin agreed, and expressed as much by kissing Dareth’s forehead, but forced himself to pull away and out of his husband’s grip. 

He ignored Dareth’s whining as he climbed out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes. He dug out some for his husband as well, tossing them onto the bed. “Come on, I’m not going down there to see him by myself.”

Dareth snorted. “He’s not going to eat you.”

“Says you.” 

The conversation ended there. Ronin made sure to face away from Dareth as he changed his shirt. He glanced at his chest, anxiety twisting his gut. He hadn’t had the conversation about that yet, had he? When was he going to? He didn’t really think Dareth would be disgusted by it, but he couldn’t help thinking he should have mentioned it before Dareth agreed to stay married to him. 

“Babe, I love staring at your boxer clad butt, but are you going to put some pants on?” 

Ronin couldn’t keep the squeak from escaping his throat as he turned to look at Dareth. The man was already dressed, but still lounging on the bed as he raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t have to stare.” Ronin snapped as he scrambled to pull his pants on. 

“Don’t have to be embarrassed. I’m sure you like staring at my butt.”

“You wish.” Ronin stuck out his tongue. “Let’s just get downstairs.” 

The pair of them headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Ronin could smell the bacon already. He glanced at the stove to still see a pan sitting on it, some sliced potatoes sprinkled with shredded cheese. 

“Wasn’t sure about your preferences, so I hope bacon and hashbrowns will do.” Mark already had the bacon on three separate plates. He poured two mugs full of coffee. “You like fresh milk in your coffee, Ronin?” 

Ronin almost always drank his coffee black, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. “I’ll try a little bit.” 

Mark opened a jug and poured a touch into one mug and more into the other. “Sugar?” 

Ronin shook his head. 

Mark set the mugs on the table before returning to the stove. Dareth slumped down in one of the seats, sleep still obvious in his eyes. It didn’t surprise Ronin. The man was used to waking up at two in the afternoon for his night shifts. Five AM must be hell. 

“You two sleep well?” Mark sprinkled some pepper into the pan. “Looked pretty snug before I woke you up.” 

Ronin’s cheeks burned, but he didn’t say anything. He just took his coffee mug and took a sip. Nope, he still preferred it black, but the flavor wasn’t bad. 

“Could have just left us snug.” Dareth snorted.

“Now now, Dare-bear, you know when you visit you don’t get to just lay around the house.” 

“Dare-bear?” Ronin muttered into his mug. 

“He’s teasing me.” Dareth answered. “But yeah yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean you have to drag Ronin into it though.” 

“Thought he’d like to at least see the process.” Mark split up the hashbrowns and put them on the plates before turning the stove off. “But let's see if some food wakes you up first.”   
  
Ronin took a moment to inhale when Mark handed him breakfast. It certainly smelled good. He didn’t dig in quite yet, not wanting to just scarf down his food if there was some ritual that went on beforehand. 

Thankfully Mark started eating, opening his tablet to read the news it seemed. Dareth almost looked like he was about to pass out onto his plate until Ronin nudged his arm. The man blinked a few times and pulled the bacon off his plate to chew on it. At least that seemed to be helping. 

Ronin took another swig of coffee before he dug in himself. Something about the bacon tasted different. From another local farm perhaps? The hashbrowns were good as well, though the potatoes were still too thick to be crunchy enough. Perhaps it was just a personal preference. 

He wouldn’t comment though, not unless he was asked. 

The entirety of breakfast seemed to be a silent affair, which was strange to Ronin. Dareth often liked to chat over breakfast but that was probably only when he was waking up when he was used to it. Even after eating and downing a second cup of coffee he still seemed barely aware of his surroundings. 

When all the plates and the coffee pot were empty, Mark gathered them up and deposited them in the sink. He gave them a light rinse before turning the sink off. 

“You boys ready to see the barn? Best get your walking shoes on.” The man wiped his hands down on a towel. “I’ll wait for you on the porch.”

Ronin debated if they could just find a place to hide, but knew it would be rude. He got up first, soon followed by Dareth as the pair of them headed to their room. 

“You good?” Ronin asked at the top of the stairs.

“Ugh, yeah.” Dareth shook his head. “Drowsiness is just hitting me again. I’m sure I’ll wake up eventually.” 

“Hm,” Ronin hummed as he put his hands on Dareth’s cheeks. “Maybe this will help.” He pulled him into a kiss, a gentle one, though one of his hands slid down his husband's neck all the way to his chest. 

Dareth caught Ronin’s chin when he pulled back. “Don’t know if that’s waking me up or making me more tempted to climb back in bed.” 

Ronin didn’t miss his meaning, but wasn’t sure how to respond to it. 

“Also you still taste like cheese.” Dareth poked him on the nose before stepping around him and heading to the room. “Come on, Mark will come looking for us if we take too long.”

Ronin sighed, mixed feelings swirling in his chest, but he followed along to grab his shoes. 

\------------------------

The air was unbelievably cool at this hour. Ronin let the breeze run across his face as he stared out at the open field. The mountains were barely visible in the distance, morning fog hanging in the air. He could see the windmill, however, that Mark mentioned yesterday. It towered near the barn, the fan turning with the air.

He took a deep breath as they began to trek through the grass. It smelled crisp, fresh, just a hint of grass and dew. He could still hear the crickets chirping in the grass, not yet asleep. He shut his eye for a moment as he took in the sounds and the smells. Something about it felt familiar, tugged at his memory. The feeling of the grass under his boots finally reminded him.

He’d scamper out into his backyard every morning after breakfast. For whatever reason he just loved getting as messy as possible before the school bus came. His mother would scold him, but never make much of an effort to stop him. She’d wipe the dirt off his cheeks and rub it out of his hair. 

“Honestly, mija, what are they going to–”

The nickname cut through the memory like a hot knife. He stopped walking, eye going wide as he tried to focus on something to ground him. 

“Ronin?” Dareth turned to look at him, which caused Mark to stop as well. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” Ronin picked up his pace again. “Haven’t been out in the morning air in a while. Reminds me of where I grew up.”

“Oh?” Mark almost seemed to walk backwards as he looked at him. “Where did you grow up?”

Ronin clenched his jaw but forced it to relax. “New Mexico.”

“Really? Didn’t think the air here would smell the same.”

“Early morning air is rarely different.”

“That’s true enough I suppose. When’s the last time you visited?”

“Visited?” Ronin’s pace slowed down again. “Where I grew up?”

“Yeah.” Mark’s smile fell.

Ronin almost stopped his pace before he suddenly picked it up, walking around the man. “Sorry, rather not talk about it.” 

He wondered if that was too rude or forward, but it was the truth. He didn’t want to discuss it. 

Someone stepped up next to him. His shoulders went stiff until he saw Dareth’s face. His husband reached out, touching his wrist. Ronin pulled his hand free of his pocket and let Dareth take it. 

Ronin didn’t dare look back to see Mark’s face. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what kind of expression he had. 

When they reached the barn, Mark tugged open the huge doors on the front, despite there being a smaller one to the side. Ronin assumed it was to let the cows out later, but how did he get them in at night? Did they come by themselves? He almost would assume a herding dog would be used but didn’t see one around the property.

“Say hey to the girls.” Mark grinned as he gestured around the barn. There were a lot of cows to be sure, but less than Ronin expected considering the amount of land. Maybe it just got harder to care for them as Mark got older. 

There were a few cows in each stall, but they had more than enough space to move around. All the ladies were quick to walk up to the doorways, peeking out. 

“A lot less than I expected.” Ronin looked around the structure. He didn’t see some of the equipment he often saw at bigger farms. “Less equipment too.”  
  
Mark shrugged. “Cow milk is more of a side business. I get most of my money doing repair work. Actually a lot of money to be found in it when you know how to fix old tech.” The man gestured for them to follow. “Older folks drop a lot of cash on you to fix up old cars too. Month back I had a gentleman bring me a BMW Z1, from the 90s.” 

Ronin perked up. “You know how to handle stuff like that? Then again I shouldn’t be too surprised you handled the house pretty well.” 

“Always been a tinkerer, and there’s more than enough resources out there to learn from if I don’t already know. Big snag sometimes is finding the parts but I know a few people who can make them.” 

“Yeah? You got anything you’re working on now?”

Mark flashed him a smile. “I might, but I’ll have to show you later.” He came to a stop in front of one of the stalls. This one was empty, for obvious reasons. A hole was in the wall, broken planks sitting around it. 

“Dang.” Dareth cringed. “Crackerjack did a number to that one.”

“Don’t I know it. I haven’t figured out what gets her so frustrated or stressed yet.” Mark scratched his head. “But now I have you boys around to help fix it.”

“What, not going to have us milk cows?”

Mark scoffed. “What, and have my ladies put up with inexperienced hands? No thank you.” He waved a hand. “You know where my work shed is. Why don’t you show Ronin and bring some supplies back while I get to work?” 

Ronin thought about making a remark that they could have slept in and done this later, but held his tongue. 

“Sure thing.” Dareth tightened his grip on Ronin’s hand. “You still got all the spare wood in there, yeah?”

“Yup, wheelbarrows too so you don’t have to carry it all.”

“Psh, and skip an opportunity to lift in front of my husband?” Dareth put a hand on his hip. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Yeah yeah, son, don’t hurt yourself.” Mark waved them back towards the entrance. Something about his expression seemed sour.

Ronin tried not to read into it much as Dareth dragged him off.


End file.
